South African Million Dollar Race 2016
Paul Smith's Report

“INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE”
THE 20th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR
“PLATINUM EDITION”
(THE RACE WITH THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD)
(THE GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD)
DUE TO BE HELD IN LINBRO PARK, SANDTON, JOHANNESBURG,
SOUTH AFRICA ON SATURDAY 6th FEBRUARY 2016.

ANOTHER RACE SEASON STARTS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN SUNSHINE.

THE FANTASTIC MONTECASINO COMPLEX, FOURWAYS, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA WILL
BE HOSTING THE 20th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE.

RESULTS FOR TRAINING RACES 11 & 12.

The pigeons in the two race lofts a Linbro Park are now after numerous Training Races and four Hot Spot Car Races really getting used to the regular training programme and now have a great racing line back to the lofts. They are also now coping with the extremely hot and humid weather conditions this year, plus of course the regular South Africa thunderstorms.

These are the rest of the races remaining in the 2015/16 race series:- Training Race 13 from 80km (50 miles) on Wednesday 20th January, HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5 from 350km (218 miles) on Saturday 23rd January, Training Race 14 from 40km (25 miles) on Wednesday 27th January, Training Race 15 from 80km (50 miles) on Saturday 30th January, then THE FINAL RACE from 550km (342 miles) on Saturday 6th February 2016. The dates are not be set in stone and if the proposed date for any of these races is not suitable for liberation, then these will take place on the next best day in that week. Daily training will also take place during the week providing the weather is suitable. No training will take place on Sundays unless of course a holdover takes place on the Saturday race. The Overall Averages and the allocated Prize Money will only count in races of 50km (31 miles) and over.

All the United Kingdom Team fanciers/entrants and syndicate shareholders will be kept up to date with weekly “NEWSLETTERS” plus any of them or in fact anybody can log on to the state of the art The South African Million Dollar Race web site:- www.samdpr.com and get all the information they might require over the next few months.

LIVESTREAM was once again available for TRAINING RACE 11 so I duly logged on at 05.40 (GMT) or 07.40 SA time and noticed there was a blue sky and not a cloud in the sky and a nice breeze at the race lofts. All in all a perfect race day.
I thought the winning pigeons would take between 50/55 minutes to cover the 76km (47 miles). a couple of false alarms with pigeons returning from earlier tosses or races. However, I did not have to wait very long before the first gang of about 80 pigeons duly arrived at 08.22 bang on line and did a lap of honour before landing on the traps and loft 2, immediately they landed the tape recording was put on and these started to trap, within a few seconds of the arrival of the first gang another gang of about 100 plus arrived, followed by two more gangs of over 100 pigeons. All these pitched on the traps and race lofts and started to trap. Within a few minutes literally hundreds of pigeons were officially recorded by the Deister Electronic Clocking System. The pigeons did not trap very well because this short journey did not take much out of them. The tougher the race and the further the distance the pigeons always seem to trap quicker.

TRAINING RACE 11 took take place on Wednesday 13th January from 76km (47 miles). The convoy were liberated at 07.30 in overcast and conditions, with little to no wind at liberation but slightly assisting them on route and with a temperature at liberation of 18c (64f) and a fairly fast race was anticipated. The temperature was expected to rise to about 26c (80f) during the afternoon. Light rain was forecast at 11am, 13.00 and 16.00 but of course the majority of the pigeons liberated would be home and tucked up in the race lofts by the time the rain arrived.

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st OPEN goes to KARL-HEINZ KOCH from GERMANY with his pigeon named MARITA 1 and bred by KARL-HEINZ KOCH, which was officially clocked at 08.22.41.70 to record a winning velocity of 1560ypm (53mph). This fancier won 1st OPEN in the 19th SAMDPR. Then 2nd Mark Gilbert GB from United Kingdom, 3rd Club Ian Crammond & Nigel Langstaff from United Kingdom, 4th Reinhard Gebhardt from Germany, 5th Ron Brooks from United States Of America, 6th Guys Lofts Elite from United Kingdom, 7th Team Ellenbroek - Seelen from Netherlands,
8th Vladimir Srebotnjak from Slovakia, 9th Rivera Loft from United States Of America, 10th Team Tigerfish from Germany, 11th Hayder Hadaad from Kuwait, 12th Werner A Waldow - Silvia Thiel from Germany, 13th Wilfon - Rhodes from United States Of America, 14th Gaddin Brothers + Charl Stander from South Africa, 15th Team Lind from Denmark, 16th Partridge Family Loft from United States Of America, 17th Keeping Up With the Jones from United Kingdom, 18th Team Club Muensterland from Germany, 19th Diamond Loft from United States Of America and 20th Matthias Kossow from Germany. The top twenty in this result were separated by just 22.30 seconds and had 7 different countries represented in the top 20 and 12 different countries represented in the top 50, only 42.89 seconds away from the actual race winner.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 2nd OPEN went to MARK GILBERT GB from SOUTHFIELDS, WINDSOR and with pigeon named GILBERT 1, which was bred by MARK GILBERT and which was officially clocked at 08.22.42.84 just 1.14 seconds away from the 1st OPEN winner. This pigeon has been flying well and has already won 40th, 69th, 121st, 57th, 7th, 44th and now 2nd OPEN during this race series, also won 2 x 1sts, 2nd, 3rd, 2c x 4ths and a 6th UK. Then 2nd UK, 3rd Open Ian Crammond & Nigel Langstaff with pigeon bred by this partnership from Fontwell, 3rd UK, 6th Open Guys Lofts Elite with pigeon bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton, 4th UK, 17th Open Keeping Up With The Jones with pigeon bred by Robbie Jones from Southampton, 5th UK, 29th Open Millys Loft with pigeon bred by Michael Mellor from Crewe, this pigeon named Mr. Dundeee is flying well and has won 24th, 33rd $ 68th Open ans a 1stm 3rd & 6th UK so far, 6th UK, 61st Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 7th UK, 62nd Open Planet Brothers with pigeon bred by Garry & John Squibb from Noak Hill, 8th UK, 82nd Open Manchester Maestros with pigeon bred by John Crehan from Manchester, 9th UK, 86th Open Aylesbury Speed-Birds entered by Peter Entwistle from Aylesbury and with pigeon bred by Ronnie Reece & Redworth, 10th UK, 94th Open another for Manchester Maestros with second pigeon bred by John Crehan from Manchester, 11th UK, 109th Open a third for Manchester Maestros with a third pigeon bred by John Crehan from Manchester, 12th UK, 112th Open another for Aylesbury Speed-Birds and withn pigeon bred by Peter Entwistle from Aylesbury, 13th UK, 117th Open Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 14th UK, 135th Open Shot in the Dark enter by Stewart Wight from Berwick-Upon-Tweed and with pigeon bred by Chainbridge Lofts, 15th UK, 148th Open Smith- McAllister Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Bruce McAllister from Furneaux Pelham, 16th UK, 159th Open another for Millys Loft with a second pigeon bred by Michael Mellor from Crewe, 17th UK, 184th Open Zandys Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by this syndicate, this pigeon is currently holding 1st UK, 1st OPEN Grand Overall Averages after 14 races, 1st UK Country Challenge Averages after 14 races and also 1st UK, 3rd OPEN Hot Spot Car Race Averages after 4 races, plus it won quite a lot of Nomination money, 18th UK, 194th Open Mr & Mrs Brian & Mavis Clayburn from Ackworth past winners of 1st OPEN in the Final Race, 19th UK, 198th Open Jurgen & Caroline Josch with pigeon bred by this great partnership from Hailsham and then 20th UK, 207th Open Willy & Ian Gray with pigeon bred by this partnership from Coldstream.

THE UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY CHALLENGE AVERAGE WINNERS after 14 races are as follows:- 1st UK ZANDYS DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named ZANDYS CHOICE bred by this syndicate and with a total flying time 20.13.37.82. Then 2nd UK MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named MR DUNDEEE bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREEW with a total flying time 20.52.11.41. Then 3rd UK LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with pigeon named LUCKY BABE bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH with a combined flying time of 21.17.44.93.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 79th OPEN went to JAMES KING with his pigeon named SENAN and bred by JAMES KING, which was officially clocked at 08.23.40.84, just 59.14 seconds after the actual race winner. Then 2nd Ireland, 163rd Open Safet Duran, 3rd Ireland, 243rd Open Corn Direct, 4th Ireland, 268th Open Maurice O’Donnell, 5th Ireland, 277th Open Karl Donnelly and then 6th Ireland, 546th Open Padraig & Caoimhe.

GLOBAL NOMINATIONS for TRAINING RACE 11 showed 132 pigeons including 18 UK pigeons and just 1 IRISH pigeon were entered with 403 Nominations and were flying for US$2,688.55c (£1,894) in Nominations. There were no UK or IRISH winners in this race.

REGIONAL UNITED KINGDOM NOMINATIONS for TRAINING RACE 11 showed no pigeons had been entered.

GRAND OVERALL AVERAGES in the OPEN after 14 races are as follows:- 1st OPEN goes to ZANDYS DREAM TEAM from UNITED KINGDOM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named ZANDYS CHOICE bred by this syndicate with a combined flying time of 20.13.37.82 leading by nearly 8 minutes. Then 2nd OPEN goes to BARTOSZ MOREL from POLAND with pigeon named ZOSIA bred by BARTOSZ MOREL with a combined flying tome of 20.21.11.59. Then 3rd OPEN goes to TEAM GSA from GERMANY with pigeon named RIHANA bred by HORST ZIKELI with a combined flying time of 20.23.49.76.

GRAND OVERALL AVERAGES after 14 races in the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM are as follows:- 1st UK, 1st OPEN goes to ZANDYS DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named ZANDYS CHOICE bred by this syndicate with a combined flying time of 20.13.37.82, leading this category by nearly 33 minutes. Then 2nd UK, 10th OPEN goes to SYNDICATE LOFTS UK with pigeon named CREAM bred by PETER FOX from BANGOR and with combined flying time of 20.36.01.10. Then 3rd UK, 25th OPEN goes to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named MR DUNDEEE bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE with a combined flying time of 20.52.11.41.

GRAND OVERALL AVERAGES after 14 races in the IRISH TEAM are as follows:- 1st IRELAND, 59th OPEN goes to MAURICE O’DONNELL with his pigeon named HALL and bred by MAURICE O’DONNELL with a combined flying time of 21.08.20.05. Then 2nd IRELAND, 129th OPEN goes to DYLAN & DANIEL BOYLAN with their pigeon named GLEN and bred by this partnership with a combined flying time of 21.31.38.66. Then 3rd IRELAND, 147th OPEN goes to JOE KENNEDY & SON with their pigeon named EUBANK and bred by this partnership with a combined flying time of 21.36.39.41.

More short training took place during the week giving these pigeons more confidence and experience to cope with what was in front of them.

LIVESTREAM was once again available for TRAINING RACE 12 and as I was away from home as I had been asked to judge at the annual Blackpool National Pigeon Show. I duly awoke in my hotel room on Saturday morning and logged on at 05.30 GMT or 07.30 South African time. The transmission showed a very overcast, cloudy and a very windy morning in Linbro Park with the wind picking up even more whilst I was watching. I thought the winning pigeons would arrive about 08.55 and bang on time a small gang of around 25 pigeons came bang on line and flew around the lofts having difficultly landing in the strong wind and as they flew round they were then joined by another big gang of over 100 plus pigeons. As these hit the lofts and landing board they were joined by literally hundreds of other pigeons. Then the pigeons started to trap and as usual the first ones through the traps won all the major spoils. Within a few minutes literally hundreds had been officially clocked by the Diester Electronic Clocking System.

TRAINING RACE 12 was held on Saturday 16th January 2016 from 110km (68 miles) slightly further than the listed race programme of 110km (62 miles) and the convoy were liberated at 07.30 with a light head wind at liberation and a temperature of 18c (64f) at liberation an a fairly steady race was anticipated. The weather forecast was for a good day rising to 32c (92f) as the day progressed with late afternoon rain and thunderstorms from about 17.00 onwards. Hopefully, most of the pigeons would be tucked up in the lofts by then.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st OPEN goes to TEAM GERMANY - WA WALDOW - S THIEL from GERMANY with their pigeon named GOSCH bred by this partnership, which was officially clocked at 08.56.28.71 to record a winning velocity of 1376ypm (47mph). Then 2nd Fayez Q8 from Kuwait, 3rd Orlowski - Puzio from Poland, 4th Team Tigerfish from Germany, 5th Koopman Racing Team from Netherlands, 6th Jacob Poortvliet Racing Pigeons from Netherlands,
7th Mark Gilbert GB from United Kingdom, 8th Abdulla Bin Mathi from Kuwait, 9th Werner Buchloh from Germany, 10th Jochen Huenten from Germany, 11th Bader Al-Sanafi from Kuwait, 12th another for Bader Al-Sanafi from Kuwait,
13th SG Steffi from Germany, 14th Anshutz-McLaughlin from United States Of America, 15th Bader M F Al-Jwesr from Kuwait, 16th Nitu Robert Petre from Romania, 17th Tomasz Jopek from Poland, 18th Engelbrecht Lofts from South Africa with their CAR WINNER from an earlier Hot Spot Car Race, 19th Mr & Mrs Brian & Mavis Clayburn from United Kingdom past winners on 1st OPEN SCMDPR and 20th Mohammed Marzouq Al-Alwan from Kuwait. The top twenty were separated by just 32.94 seconds and had 8 different countries represented in this result with 12 different countries represented in the top 50 and these were just 46.19 seconds apart.

THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION and its 1st Prize of US$25,000 (£17,000), all entries had to be paid for prior to basketing for the 1st HOT SPOT CAR RACE. This great competition offers the following conditions and one lucky winner will walk away with “THE POT OF GOLD” after the FINAL RACE. The rules are as follows:- This competition will take place over the last four Hot Spot Car Races and the Final Race. As mentioned earlier only entered and fully paid before basketing of HSCR1 are eligible. Should any Hot Spot Car Race be cancelled then one of the Training Races prior to the Final Race will be used to calculate the next round’s pigeons. This year there was a total of 2,114 pigeons entered, with 1,984 International pigeons which included 176 pigeons from the United Kingdom, 35 pigeons from Ireland, plus there were 130 South African pigeons in the total. KNOCKOUT ROUND 1 took place on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 2 and 1,375 (65%) of the entered pigeons returning from this race moved forward to the next round. This total contained 1,273 International pigeons which included 111 pigeons from the United Kingdom, 23 pigeons from Ireland plus 102 pigeons from South Africa. KNOCKOUT ROUND 2 took place on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 3 and 756 (55%) of the entered pigeons moved forward to the next round. It was revealed that 701 International pigeons including 57 from the United Kingdom and 12 from Ireland and 55 from South Africa pigeons went through to the next round. KNOCKOUT ROUND 3 took place on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 and 265 (35%) of these entered pigeons will move forward to the next round. It has now been revealed after HSCR4 the 265 pigeons that have gone through to the next round are as follows:- 248 INTERNATIONAL pigeons, which include 17 from the UNITED KINGDOM and 4 from IRELAND and 17 pigeons from SOUTH AFRICA. KNOCKOUT ROUND 4 will take place on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5and 53 (20%) of these entered pigeons will move forward to the next round. KNOCKOUT FINAL ROUND will take place on THE FINAL RACE on SATURDAY 6th FEBRUARY 2016 and the first of the remaining KNOCKOUT PIGEONS clocked will win the US$25,000 (£17,000) “POT OF GOLD”. AS I AM SURE YOU CAN REALISE THIS IS A REALLY A TOUGH INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION THAT CREATES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF EXCITEMENT THROUGHOUT THE RACE SERIES.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 7th OPEN went to MARK GILBERT with his pigeon named GILBERT 1, bred by MARK GILBERT from SOUTHFIELDS, WINDSOR which was officially clocked at 08.56.46.89 just 18.18 seconds away from the actual race winner. This pigeon is flying exceptionally well at the present time and won 1st UK, 2nd OPEN in its previous race, see above Training Race results for its performances so far. Then 2nd UK, 19th Open Mr & Mrs Brian & Mavis Clayburn from Ackworth, 3rd UK, 32nd Open Planet Brothers with pigeon bred by Gary & John Squibb from Noak Hill, 4th UK, 38th Open Shot In The Dark entered by Stewart Wight from Berwick-Upon-Tweed and with pigeon bred by Chainbridge Lofts, 5th UK, 76th Open Oberholster Race Team with pigeon bred by Pieter Oberholster from Keysoe, 6th UK, 78th Open Lloyd & Kelly with pigeon bred by this partnership from Didcot, 7th UK, 98th Open The Farrier with pigeon bred by Brian Greenley from Malton, 8th UK, 113th Open Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 9th UK, 115th Open Ian Crammond & Nigel Langstaff with pigeon bred by this partnership from Fontwell, 10th UK, 121st Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 11th UK, 138th Open Milly Loft with pigeon bred by Michael Mellor from Crewe, 12th UK, 148th Open Zandys Dream Team, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by this syndicate, 13th UK, 180th Open Common View Lofts with pigeon bred by John Cooper from Pontypridd, 14th UK, 187th Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate with a second pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 15th UK, 188th Open Smith - McAllister Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Bruce McAllister from Furneaux Pelham, 16th UK, 193rd Open a third for Lucky Devils Syndicate and with a third pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attkleborough, 17th UK, 198th Open another for Common View Lofts with a second pigeon bred by John Cooper from Pontypridd, 18th UK, 199th Open Magnificent Seven with pigeon bred by PM Simpson from Redcar, 19th UK, 209th Open Mr 7 Mrs Andy Gregson with pigeon bred by this partnership from Preston and 20th UK, 221st Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate with a forth pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough.

THE UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY CHALLENGE OVERALL AVERAGES after 15 races is currently standing as follows:- 1st UNITED KINGDOM is ZANDYS DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with pigeon named ZANDYS CHOICE bred by this syndicate with a combined flying time of 21.43.14.92 and is currently leading this category by nearly 41 minutes. Then 2nd UNITED KINGDOM is MILLY LOFT with pigeon named MR DUNDEEE bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE with a combined flying time of 22.24.13.55. Then 3rd UNITED KINGDOM is LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with pigeon named LUCKY BABE bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH with a combined flying time of 22.45.29.54.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 134th OPEN went to JOHNSON - LEONARD & SONS with their pigeon named DELBOY bred by PAUL JOHNSON, which was officially clocked at 08.57.54.21 just 1 minute 25.50 seconds behind the actual race winner. Then 2nd Ireland, 196th Open Safet Duran, 3rd Ireland, 222nd Open Karl Donnelly, 4th Ireland, 276th Open James King, 5th Ireland, 322nd Open another for Karl Donnelly and 6th Ireland, 363rd Open Robbie Daly.

GLOBAL NOMINATIONS for TRAINING RACE 12 showed 163 pigeons were entered which included 23 UK and no IRISH pigeons and with a total 527 Nominations and US$4,682.65c (£3,230) was up for grabs and one United Kingdom fanciers won the following:- 7th OPEN for MARK GILBERT GB from UNITED KINGDOM, with his pigeon named GILBERT 1 bred by MARK GILBERT from the SOUTHFIELDS, WINDSOR and winning US$2,941 (£2,028) for its efforts.

UNITED KINGDOM REGIONAL NOMINATIONS for this TRAINING RACE 12 showed just 3 pigeons were entered with a total of 18 Nominations and US$224.40c (£155) was up for grabs. There was one winner and it was 7th OPEN MARK GILBERT GB with his pigeon named GILBERT 1 bred by MARK GILBERT from SOUTHFIELDS, WINDSOR which won US$224.40c (£155) for its efforts.

GRAND OVERALL AVERAGES in the OPEN after 15 races are as follows:- 1st OPEN goes to ZANDYS DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named ZANDYS CHOICE bred by this syndicate with a combined flying time of 21.43.14.92, currently leading by nearly 5 minutes. Then 2nd OPEN goes to BARTOSZ MOREL from POLAND with his pigeon named ZOSIA bred by BARTOSZ MOREL with a combined flying time of 21.48.28.83 and then 3rd OPEN goes to TEAM BL from GERMANY with pigeon named MUGA bred by CAHRNSS with a combined flying time of 21.52.31.51.

GRAND OVERALL AVERAGES after 15 races in the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM are as follows:- 1st UK, 1st OPEN goes to ZANDYS DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named ZANDYS CHOICE bred by this syndicate with a combined flying time of 21.43.14.92 currently leading by just over 23 minutes. Then 2nd UK, 13th OPEN SYNDICATE LOFTS UK with pigeon named CREAM bred by PETER FOX from BANGOR and with a combined flying time of 22.06.25.39 and then 3rd UK, 27th OPEN goes to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named MR DUNDEEE and with pigeon bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE with a combined flying time of 22.24.13.55.

GRAND OVERALL AVERAGES after 15 races in the IRISH TEAM are as follows:- 1st IRELAND, 53rd OPEN goes to MAURICE O’DONNELL with his pigeon named HALL bred by MAURICE O’DONNELL with a combined flying time of 22.37.17.54. Then 2nd IRELAND, 126th OPEN goes to DYLAN & DANIEL BOYLAN with their pigeon named GLEN and bred by this partnership with a combined flying time of 23.03.27.16 and then 3rd IRELAND, 143rd OPEN goes to JOE KENNEDY & SON with their pigeon named EUBANK bred by JOE KENNEDY & SON with a combined flying time of 22.07.37.80.

The next race will be TRAINING RACE 13 from 80km (50 miles) and should take place on Wednesday 20th January 2016, with HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5 from 350km (218 miles) and is due to take place on Saturday 23rd January 2016.

***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*** I am sorry that I can’t add all the information about who bred all the pigeons or where they live as I can only publish details which I am in possession of at the time of going to press. If there are no details besides your winning pigeon/s then please contact me on 01279-812005 or reglofts@aol.com with your details and I will include these in my later International Press Reports. I personally do my best to give all the fanciers, entrants and breeders all the credit they and their pigeons deserve when they manage to get in the race results so your help in this matter will be greatly appreciated.

As mentioned earlier only races of 50km (approx. 31 miles) will count towards The 20th South African Million Dollar Overall ACE PIGEON Averages, which has a total of three superb cash prizes of US$10,000 (approx. £6,666), US$5,000 (approx. £3,333) and US$2,500 (approx. £1,666) for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in this category after the Final Race has been completed.

NOMINATION RACES will be held on numerous TRAINING RACES, started on TRAINING RACE 2 plus the HOT SPOT CAR RACES 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and of course the FINAL RACE. See SAMDPR Web Site for full details. All these races will have US$1, US$2, US£5, US$10, US$20, US$50 & US$100 REGIONAL and US$1, US$2, US$5, US$10, US$20, US$50 & US$100 GLOBAL NOMINATIONS which can be placed on THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR Web Site. For HOT SPOT CAR RACES there will also be an optional US$200 Nomination. If you wish to enter any of these NOMINATIONS, you will have to have credit in your ASI Master Account. If you do not have credit then please forward funds to your Race Shipper so that this can be transferred to your Master Account in time to get your NOMINATIONS placed. Please do not leave it to the last minute to transfer funds as the transfer may not go through in time and this could result in your pigeon or pigeons not winning what they should be rewarded with.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL CONCERNED AND REGULAR “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES”, “NEWSLETTERS” AND “UPDATES” WILL BE SENT OUT TO ALL COMPETITORS/ENTRANTS AND SYNDICATE SHAREHOLDERS ON A WEEKLY BASIS BY EMAIL OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. ALSO WEEKLY “PRESS RELEASES” WILL BE SENT OUT TO BOTH OUR TWO PIGEON PUBLICATIONS NAMELY THE “BRITISH HOMING WORLD” AND “”THE RACING PIGEON” PLUS IT WILL ALSO BE ON MY REGENCY LOFTS WEB SITE www.regencylofts.com FOR ALL TO VIEW.

***SPECIAL NOTICE*** One point that should be pointed out to all competitors and entrants is that only your NUMBER 1 pigeons is “ACTIVATED” (FULLY PAID UP ENTRY) with the other TWO (2) pigeons in each of your “TEAM OF 3” being your RESERVES or BACK-UP PIGEONS. Another point worth mentioning is if you happened to lose your NUMBER 1 PIGEON, your NUMBER 2 PIGEON would replace it FREE OF CHARGE and likewise if you then lost your NUMBER 2 PIGEON, your NUMBER 3 PIGEON would then replace that one FREE OF CHARGE. If you were unlucky enough to lose all your entries of 3 pigeons in any of your “TEAMS” and they had won no “Special Prize Money” in the new HOT SPOT CAR RACES 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 then you are entitled to a FREE ENTRY into the 21st SAMDPR and all you have to pay is the official shipping/export costs to your Country Shipper.

This of course represents great value for your money. All pigeons go to every training toss and Saturday and Wednesday races providing they are fit enough but can only compete for any of the allocated PRIZE MONEY or SPECIAL AWARDS in the 5 x HOT SPOT CAR RACES if they are “ACTIVATED” and that means that these must be paid for prior to the HOT SPOT CAR RACE 1, which actually took place on SATURDAY 12th DECEMBER 2015 from 130km (approx. 81 miles). The cost to “ACTIVATE” these “RESERVES or BACK-UP PIGEONS” is US$1,100 (approx. £750) (THIS MAY CHANGE SLIGHTLY DEPENDING ON CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE AT THE TIME OF ACTIVATION) but that will then entitle all these fully paid up pigeons to compete and be eligible to fly for all the extra cash prizes and special awards that amounts to close to US$300,000 (approx. £200,000). The one thing to remember is that once your reserve pigeon or pigeons are fully paid for, if then they get lost and have won no prize money or special awards in the Special Money Races, then you get this money refunded (less about US$15 (£10) for bank charges) or you can have it added to your ASI account, which can then be used to purchase another pigeon at a later date and be entered into the Final Race under your name or syndicate or even under another name of your choice. So as you can see it is “BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY” and pay for them early, after all you have nothing to lose. The race entry fee for The 19th SAMDPR was actually increased by US$100, up to US$1,100. However, all cash refunds will be at US$1,000 per paid pigeon, which will give the race organiser US$100 per pigeon towards the feeding, training and quarantine costs.
HOW MANY OTHER RACES IN THE WORLD OFFER THIS SORT OF OPTION TO COMPETITORS AND ENTRANTS?

***WHAT CAN BE WON DURING THIS 2015/16 RACE SERIES*** Prizes and awards now add up to a staggering US$1.8 Million American Dollars £1.2 Million Pounds) and these include 5 x Brand New Motor Cars, 1 for each of the 5 x Car Races, 95 x US$1,100 Hot Spot Cash Prizes (it should be noted that the Motor Car Winner does not receive a US$1,100 Cash Prize), split into 19 x US$1,100 Cash Prizes for each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, a US$5,000 Car Race Hot Spot Ace Pigeon Award for the best pigeon in these 5 races, 5 x US$5,000 Country Cash Prizes on the Car Race Hot Spot 5, plus numerous other US$1,000 Cash Prizes, these prizes are for the first pigeon from each country in the result, the first five different countries take the US$5,000 prizes, then after that US$1,000 prizes. A Two Bird Average Competition and a US$2,000 Cash Prize in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, A Three Bird Average Competition and a US$3,000 Cash Prize in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, The South African Million Dollar Ace Pigeon Award carries US$17,500 in Prize Money, split into three cash prizes with 1st US$10,000, 2nd US$5,000 and 3rd US$2,500 Cash Prizes for the 3 pigeons with the best overall average in all the Official Training Races over 50km (31 miles) and 5 x Car Race Hot Spots and the Final Race. There will also be a Knockout Winner Competition and US$25,000 Prize Money, which starts on the Car Race Hot Spot 2 and the winner is the first one to be clocked in the “FINAL RACE” (over the past few years there has been around 40/60 pigeons still left in this competition). Then in the “FINAL RACE” on the 6th February 2016 there are also 10 magnificent platinum pendants to be won worth well over US$1,000 each and now over US$1 Million American Dollars in Prize Money and 300 cash prizes being on offer.

THE ZANDY MEYER MEMORIAL RACE & US$1,000 (approx. £645) NOMINATION will also take place on the “FINAL RACE” and the winning will be A BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ SLK 555 MOTOR CAR, worth a staggering US$85,000 (approx. £55,000). (ONLY “ACTIVATED” PIGEONS ARE ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE FOR ANY OF THESE SPECIAL CASH PRIZES OR AWARDS). This new competition was very well supported in its first year and had over 160 entries and was so successful that it also paid out a staggering 2nd prize of US$54,000 cash. Do not miss this fantastic opportunity to win a fabulous new car. The 19th SAMDPR attracted about 140 entries and two staggering prizes were once again won by two worthy winners.

PRIZE MONEY ALLOCATED TO THE 20th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR FINAL RACE, “PLATINUM EDITION” ON SATURDAY 6th FEBRUARY 2016 IS NOW AS FOLLOWS:- 1st US$150,000 (approx. £93,750), 2nd US$100,000 (approx. £62,500), 3rd US$75,000 (approx. £46,875), 4th US$50,000 (approx. £31,250), 5th US$40,000 (approx. £25,000), 6th US$25,000 (£15,625), 7th US$17,500 (£10,938), 8th US$15,000 (£9,375, 9th US$12,500 (£7,813), 10th US$15,000 (approx. £10,000), 11th/15th US$7,500 each (approx. £4,688), 16th/20th US$5,000 each (approx. £3,125), 21st/30th US$4,000 each (approx. £2,500), 31st/40th US$3,500 each (approx. £2,188), 41st/50th US$3,000 each (approx. £1,875), 51st/70th US$2,000 each (£1,250), 71st/100th US$1,750 each (£1,094), 101st/150th US$1,500 each (£938), 151st/200th US$1,250 each (£782) and then 201st/300th US$1,100 each (£688). (Subject to terms and conditions of entry). The actual cash prizes stated above represent exchange rates at the current time and may of course change at the time of each race depending what the currency exchange rate is on the actual race day. Also for this “SPECIAL PLATINUM EDITION” to celebrate 20 years of this great race AIR SPORT INTERNATIONALE (THE PRESENTERS) will give 10 PLATINUM MEDALS to the first ten ACTIVATED PIGEONS clocked in THE FINAL RACE.

It is worth mentioning that six brand new cars have been won by fanciers representing the United Kingdom Team in the last seven years, Richard Elliott and Chris Gordon both won new cars during the 2005/6 race series and Paul & Dave McCarthy won one a new car during the 2006/7 series. During the 2011/12 race series fanciers from the UK won a staggering 3 x brand new cars and these were Nev & Angi Evans & Steve Cuthbert, Robert & Peter Montila and then Phil Bond. This in itself was an outstanding team performance. No other country has ever won three cars on the trot. The Irish fancier named John Nash also won a brand new car in the 2008/9 race series. I am hopeful that somebody from the United Kingdom or Ireland will also win one or maybe more brand new cars during the 2015/16 race series. GOOD LUCK TO ALL COMPETITORS.

I would also just like to notify fanciers that my weekly “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE”, “NEWSLETTERS” and “UPDATES” can now also be seen on the following pigeon web sites:- www.regencylofts.com www.iprr.co.uk www.elimarpigeons.com www.pigeonportal.com www.pigeonglobe.co.uk www.cyberpigeon.co.uk www.pigeonbasics.com www.star-pigeons.com www.pigeonpixels.co.uk www.theloftreport.com www.oneloftracing.com www.hitchcock-pigeons.com www.pigeonbasics.com plus of course they will also be published in the “”BRITISH HOMING WORLD” and “THE RACING PIGEON” weeklies and other world pigeon publications for all to see, read and enjoy.

The race date for THE 21st SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE has already been agreed and confirmed by the race organisers as SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY 2017.

I have just been officially notified that once again there will a staggering FIRST PRIZE of US$200,000 (£138,000) and a SECOND PRIZE of US$125,000 (£87,000) and a THIRD PRIZE of US$75,000 (£52,000) and a FOURTH PRIZE of US$50,000 (£35,000), plus 296 other top class prizes on offer for this prestigious International Final Race. The Prize Money allocated in the Final Race will still exceed US$1 Million US Dollars (£690,000) Pounds Sterling. If you want details please contact Paul Smith who will be only too pleased to forward you on a full list of all the Prize Money on offer.

If anybody is intending to travel out to South Africa to watch the race and they need tickets for any of the functions, these tickets need to be pre-booked before travelling because final numbers have to be given to the caterers well before your arrival. So please do not leave this booking until you arrive as this will be too late to do anything about it.

If you are interested in participating or acting a Country Race Team Shipper/Co-ordinator, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or SMS or email on reglofts@aol.com and I will give you all the information you require. My two proposed shipping dates for THE 21st SAMDPR will take about the middle of MAY 2016 and then the second one should be around the middle of JUNE 2016. Of course these two dates will be confirmed nearer the time. I strongly recommend that you try to ship your race entries on the 1st shipping date as this then gives these pigeons much more time to settle into the race lofts.

If you have any questions about any aspect of THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or by SMS or email at reglofts@aol.com and I will do my best to answer any of your questions or queries about this great race.

These “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES” do take a lot of my time to prepare and I try to get as much into them as possible as I know fanciers and entrants like to know what is happening, unfortunately some time, some information will not be to hand when the print deadline is reached so can’t be included in that report. I can only apologise if I leave something out but I can assure everybody that I do my best to get as much information as possible to put into each of these international reports.

IF ANY PIGEON FANCIER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR IN FACT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE MY WEEKLY “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES”, “NEWSLETTERS” AND “UPDATES” BY EMAIL, THEN ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS EMAIL ME THEIR ACTUAL EMAIL ADDRESS I WILL PUT THEM ON MY EMAIL DATABASE AND I WILL THEN FORWARD THEM ALL THE INFORMATION BY EMAIL ON A REGULAR BASIS.

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL PIGEON FANCIERS, SYNDICATES AND ENTRANTS DURING THE 2015/16 RACE SERIES.

Paul Smith.
United Kingdom Race Team Co-ordinator/Shipper & International Race Co-ordinator for The 20th South African Million Dollar, “Platinum Edition” (The Greatest & Biggest One Loft Pigeon Race In The World Today! and also The Race With The Proven Track Record), which is due to be held at the Montecasino Complex, Fourways, Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday 6th February 2016. Regency Lofts Limited, 2, Highmead, off Coltsfield, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LJ. England. Telephone/Facsimile:- 01279-812005 (Int. Code:- +44-1279-812005). Mobile:- 07860-568216. Email Address:- reglofts@aol.com Skype Address:- talbot7944 Regency Lofts Web Site Address:- www.regencylofts.com The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race Web Site Address:- www.samdpr.com